State senate releases $5.2B housing bill, rejects real estate transfer tax

The Massachusetts Senate unveiled its $5.2 billion version of a housing bond bill, excluding a controversial real estate transfer fee backed by the governor and several cities and towns throughout Massachusetts.

The housing bond bill, based on a proposal from the Healey administration from October, aims to tackle the housing shortage in Massachusetts with funding for affordable housing, tax credits, zoning changes and policy shifts. Senate officials said the measure would add 40,000 housing units in efforts to address a statewide 200,000-unit shortage forecast by the end of the decade.

“We would be naive to think we could do all of that in one bill, at one time, knowing to even build the units that we need it’s going to take 20 years,” said Senate Housing Committee Chairwoman Lydia Edwards in a press conference Monday. “The housing conversation and the solutions and the tools that we need to build are just starting again.”

The local option for a real estate transfer fee proposed in Healey’s version of the bill would have taxed a portion of properties sales over $1 million by between 0.5% to 2% and direct revenue to affordable housing development.

The fee has now been left out of both the Senate’s plan and the House’s $6.2 billion housing bill proposed earlier in June, effectively killing off most hope for its inclusion in the bills.

Gov. Maura Healey in remarks Monday said she is “really pleased” to see the bill moving forward in the Senate and skipped commenting on the lack of the real estate transfer fee directly.

“I have to go back and look at what they’ve actually come out with and what happens now through a conference process,” Healey said in response to a question on the lack of a transfer fee Monday. “I think that it’s important to note that we served up a number of options for the legislature to consider with a goal of sparking production.”

Several communities, including Boston, have staunchly advocated for the measure in the state Legislature. On Monday, Mayor Michelle Wu said the city will “keep going at it” for the fee as federal funds for vital affordable housing projects “dry up.”

“This is a broadly popular measure across all of our communities,” Wu said. “We know residents understand the need for more funding for affordable housing. The city’s proposal was backed by years of research that shows it would not reduce housing production or dampen sales of housing or any transactions like that.”

Other groups applauded the Senate’s decision to move the bill forward without the tax.

Leadership of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts in a statement Monday argued the tax would “disrupt an already difficult housing market” and applauded the Senate’s focus on “production and investment” in the bill.

“We strongly encourage Senators to emphasize production over regulation during debate on the bill,” AIM Executive Vice President of Government Affairs Stephanie Swanson said.

“To overcome the housing crisis, leaders on Beacon Hill need to prioritize policies that reduce barriers to housing creation, which will in turn help generate production of homes across all price points,” said Greg Vasil, CEO of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, on Monday, highlighting the “streamlined permitting of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs).”

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Conservative advocates with Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance called the consideration of the tax “mystifying” and urged the legislators to go farther to cut taxes and “costly policy provisions with the goal of making housing more affordable.”

“If they had cut taxes, provided legislation to lower property taxes, or eliminate some of the green mandates driving up housing costs, then we would be singing their praises,” stated Paul Diego Craney, spokesman for the MassFiscal.

The bill heads for debate in the Senate on Thursday.

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